Reinforcing rod chairs

ABSTRACT

A support for reinforcing bar-mats used in continuously reinforced pavements and other building construction. When the bar-mat is laid on the ground the support chair which is provided with an open slot is laid over a bar forming a part of the mat. Thereupon, when the bar-mat is raised into its required position above the ground, the bar will slide up the slot to a point where it will rest in a cradle forming a part of the support or chair. Should the bar-mat be raised before the chair is laid over a bar it can be dropped vertically downwardly over a bar and the bar will slide up the slot to the point where it will rest in the cradle. The support, known in the art as a rod chair, is formed by stamping the same from sheet metal.

United States Patent 1 Wise [ 1 June 5,1973

[54] REINFORCING ROD CHAIRS [76] Inventor: Marcus Sylvester Wise, 1405 S.

Primary ExaminerFrank L. Abbott Assistant ExaminerJames L. Ridgill, Jr. Att0rneyLaurence R. Brown [5 7] ABSTRACT A support for reinforcing bar-mats used in continuously reinforced pavements and other building construction. When the bar-mat is laid on the ground the support chair which is provided with an open slot is laid over a bar forming a part of the mat. Thereupon, when the bar-mat is raised into its required position above the ground, the bar will slide up the slot to a point where it will rest in a cradle forming a part of the support or chair. Should the bar-mat be raised before the chair is laid over a bar it can be dropped vertically downwardly over a bar and the bar will slide up the slot to the point where it will rest in the cradle. The support, known in the art as a rod chair, is formed by stamping the same from sheet metal.

6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEDJUN SL975 3,736,719

SHEET 1 OF 2 FIG.I.

INVEHTOI MARCUS S WISE ATTORN EY PATENTEUJUN 5 I973- sum 2 or 2 FIG.7.

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ATTORNEY REINFORCING ROD CHAIRS BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to a chair for supporting reinforcing steel used in the construction of highways, building construction and building floors made of poured concrete. The chair is made of flat metal that is ribbed for strength and bent to form a base to support it. A slot is cut up or stamped out of the sheet metal and up one side thereof so that a bar may slide up the slot to a point termed a cradle wherein the bar will rest at the correct height from the ground or sand bed.

When the chair is laid upon its side so that the open end of the slot may be placed over a bar prior to raising the bar, the latter when raised into position will slide into the slot and slide to a point termed a cradle where the rod will rest. The chair, by its construction, may be employed in situations where it is desirable to drop it straight downwardly over a rod so that the rod will slide up the slot to rest in the cradle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION This invention relates to construction devices, or apparatus employed in fabricating concrete structures where reinforcing steel is employed especially in concrete roads and highways, concrete floors and slab-type foundations, and the principal object of the invention resides in the provision of a preformed stamped element designed for supporting and maintaining reinforcing steel in proper position in said roads and pavements, floors and foundations while pouring and settling the materials.

An object of the invention is that of providing a preformed metal supporting device or chair by which the reinforcing steel, formed in rods or in bar mesh, is held at a proper height or spacing according to the thickness or dimensions of the floor in which the reinforcing materials are placed, thus insuring the proper leveling of the materials without the use of such ordinary devices as brick, and other supporting media, which is not generally accurate as to engineering standards. Basically, the present invention relates to concrete reinforcing means and more particularly to a rod-supporting chair which is adapted to be positioned on a subgrade and, in combination with like chairs, serves to support at a predetermined level above the subgrade a series of reinforcing rods in connection with a concrete paving installation.

It is among the general objects of the present invention to provide an improved reinforcing rod-supporting chair which, due to the novel design and construction thereof, will more accurately support a reinforcing rod at a predetermined height above the subgrade, height being a critical factor in many installations. A similar and related object of the invention is to provide such a rod-supporting chair which is stronger and more rigid than present-day chairs for the same purpose.

One of the principal and specific objects of the invention is to provide is to provide a rod-supporting chair having associated therewith novel cradle means for retaining a reinforcing rod in position on the chair in the upper region thereof, such cradle means being automatically effective upon downward pushing of the rod into the rod-receiving cradle which is provided for in the upper region of the chair leg.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide in a chair of the type under consideration a novel rodreceiving cradle which is of one-piece construction or nearly so and is in the form of a sheet metal stamping wherein the cradle is created at the time the stamping operation is performed.

Other objects of the invention and the various advantages and characteristics thereof will be apparent from a con-sideration of the following description and drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view depicting a bar-mat lying on the sand-bed or the ground and several rod chairs applied thereto;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a portion of a bar-mat showing a rod chair being applied to a rod of the bar-mat;

FIG. 3 is a view depicting the position taken by a rod chair as the bar-mat is raised;

FIG. 4 is a view depicting the position taken by the rod chair when supporting a rod or bar of the bar-mat;

FIG. 5 is a view of the rod chair taken on the line 5-5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the invention embodying a single rod chair supporting a reinforcing rod for concrete structures;

FIG. 7 is a view taken on line 7-7 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a plan view looking down on the rod chair.

It is common practice to place some type of supporting media beneath reinforcing steel rods or mesh in concrete floor structures, as in the forming of concrete slabs poured on a solid base, such as road pavements, floors and the like, or in the forming of above ground flooring, as in multi-storied structures where it is desirable to provide poured concrete floors. The support chair of the instant invention is primarily for bar-matsused in continuously reinforced pavement and other building construction. In any event, it is desirable to provide reinforcements in the form of steel rods, formed in single strings, or in bar-mat or mesh units which must be uniformly supported across the entire area for proper integration of the mass to prevent cracking or separation by settling of supporting surfaces, or through weight applied to suspended floors, as in multi-storied structures.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and in particular to FIGS. 5 and 6 wherein an exemplary form of reinforcing rod-supporting chair constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention has been shown as being ready to be installed in a paving construction, the chair assembly has been designated in its entirety at 10 and ready to be supported on a subgrade 12 usually dirt or sand.

The chair comprises a lower sand plate 14l4' adapted to be supported upon the subgrade 12, an upper cradle 15, and an intermediate interconnecting support 16, said sand plate being in the form of a generally rectangular, elongated, sheet metal stamping, having a plurality of marginal upstruck reinforcing ribs 17 along its side edges.

The chair assembly is preferably formed from relatively heavy gauge sheet metal, about 20 gauge steel, ribbed for strength, the base containing about 12 square inches of area. The chair is preferably stamped to form the base 14 from which is cut a portion 14' to be extended as shown in FIG. 8 and to complement the base portion 14. The sand plate thus requires two portions 14 and 14', the portion 14 being partially severed from portion 14 and bent to the position shown, thereby forming a base support 14-14, the portion 16 rising vertically from said support. A slot 25 of the shape shown in FIG. is cut from or stamped out of portion 16, said slot terminating at one end in an open mouth 26 and at its other end in a closed end cul de sac or cradle 15, as clearly shown in FIG. 5, the configuration of the slot being somewhat difficult to describe. The slot is bounded by a metal flange or side portion 28 preferably resistance welded to the portion 16. The portion 29 that flanks the slot 25 resembles the trunk of an elephant, drooping downwardly, and performs an important function once a reinforcing rod has entered the slot, ultimately to rest in the chair cradle 15.

The chair is so designed that when it is laid over a bar on its edge 35, the mouth 26 of the slot 25 will rest over a bar of a bar-mat (See FIG. 2) which has been lying on the ground. The rod chair of this invention will take up to a 5i; inch bar and swing through a El /e k inch opening in a bar mat (See FIGS. 1-5) when called upon to swing. This is an important feature of this disclosure.

When the open slot is laid over a bar as in FIG. 2 and the bar-mat is lifted into position, the bar 30 will slide up the slot to the point where it will rest in the cradle on the chair as shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. Should the bar-mat be lifted before the chair is laid on its edge 30, the chair can be dropped vertically downwardly over the bar whereupon the bar will slide up the slot to its resting point in the cradle. In other words, the chair finds an admirable use whether the bar-mat is prone on the ground or whether it has been raised to some height determined in advance. It has been demonstrated that the chair will swing through a bar-mat opening of 3% inches and support a bar from 3 inches to 5 inches above the supporting base.

At a distance spaced slightly inwardly from each longitudinal edge of the plate 14 a raised rib 17 is formed, the two ribs being coextensive with'the vertical extent of ribs 17 on the vertical member 16. On plate 14 the rib l7 placed in the center thereof is coextensive with the rib 17 formed on the vertical member 16. All ribs are raised and produced during the stamping operation for producing the rod chair.

Referring now to FIG. 1, in effecting any given paving or other installation, the requisite number of the rod chairs are positioned as heretofore pointed out on the bar-mat and then subsequently take their proper selected positions with respect to the bar-mat when it is raised.

Because of the simplicity of the device, it is one which may be manufactured economically in quantity at a low cost.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a chair for maintaining a cylindrical, horizontally extending, reinforcing rod in fixed position over a subgrade in connection with a paving installation, said chair comprising a lower sand plate adapted to be supported upon the subgrade, an upper cradle for cradling said reinforcing rod, and an intermediate portion constituting a leg support and being an integral part of said sand plate and being provided with a slot open at one end thereof and completely closed at the other end thereof and embracing said cradle.

2. As a new article of manufacture, as described in claim 1, in which said sand plate is in the form of a generally rectangular, elongated, sheet metal stamping in two portions, one portion being stamped out of the other portion and bent away therefrom degrees thereby forming a base support.

3. As a new article of manufacture, as described in claim 2 in which said sand plate is in the form of a generally rectangular, elongated, sheet metal stamping bent at right angles to said leg support and forming the source from which the other portion is stamped and bent away therefrom 180 and being shorter than the said portion from which it was stamped thereby forming a base support.

4. As a new article of manufacture as described in claim 1 in which said intermediate portion constituting a leg support is provided with a slot open at one end and completely closed at the other end in the shape of a cul de sac, the open end constituting the means whereby the reinforcing rod may enter said slot on its way to the cradle in said completely closed end.

5. A device as described in claim 4 in which the marginal edge of said slot on one face of said leg support is bounded by an upstanding curb positioned at right angles to said leg support.

6. A device as described in claim 4 in which the opposite surfaces of said leg support are ribbed thereby providing additional strength, the ribs on one face of said support being coextensive with the ribs on one portion of said sand plate and the rib on the opposite face of said support is coextensive with the rib on the other portion of said sand plate. 

1. As a new article of manufacture, a chair for maintaining a cylindrical, horizontally extending, reinforcing rod in fixed position over a subgrade in connection with a paving installation, said chair comprising a lower sand plate adapted to be supported upon the subgrade, an upper cradle for cradling said reinforcing rod, and an intermediate portion constituting a leg support and being an integral part of said sand plate and being provided with a slot open at one end thereof and completely closed at the other end thereof and embracing said cradle.
 2. As a new article of manufacture, as described in claim 1, in which said sand plate is in the form of a generally rectangular, elongated, sheet metal stamping in two portions, one portion being stamped out of the other portion and bent away therefrom 180 degrees thereby forming a base support.
 3. As a new article of manufacture, as described in claim 2 in which said sand plate is in the form of a generally rectangular, elongated, sheet metal stamping bent at right angles to said leg support and forming the source from which the other portion is stamped and bent away therefrom 180* and being shorter than the said portion from which it was stamped thereby forming a base support.
 4. As a new article of manufacture as described in claim 1 in which said intermediate portion constituting a leg support is provided with a slot open at one end and completely closed at the other end in the shape of a cul de sac, the open end constituting the means whereby the reinforcing rod may enter said slot on its way to the cradle in said completely closed end.
 5. A device as described in claim 4 in which the marginal edge of said slot on one face of said leg support is bounded by an upstanding curb positioned at right angles to said leg support.
 6. A device as described in claim 4 in which the opposite surfaces of said leg support are ribbed thereby providing additional strength, the ribs on one face of said support being coextensive with the ribs on one portion of said sand plate and the rib on the opposite face of said support is coextensive with the rib on the other portion of said sand plate. 